In another example of the advancement of the U.S. economy, Case-Shiller published the statistics on housing prices in the major metropolitan areas in the country. This index is a common measure that is touted by most of the major news sources and business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune and the Disneyland Weekly.
If you only want the cliff notes version, then here's the conclusion: U.S. residential real estate continues to advance in nearly all the major geographic areas. Portland, OR leads the group with a 12.4% year-over-year gain, but Seattle and Denver were also strong. The index that reflects the Case-Shiller measure is just shy of the record set in late 2006. This measure does not measure residential real estate in the smaller areas found int he Midwest or plains' states. We suspect that this helps illustrate the divergence in financial gains between the major coastal states and those in the center of the country. If you were reading carefully and wanted to know how to subscribe to the Disneyland Weekly you'll be disappointed. It doesn't exist. Home price gains in July slow according to the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller indices Mike & the Berkeley team
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Given the pending presidential election in 2 months, the news released yesterday about improving wages and general economic growth in the U. S. (still slow but steady) is providing Democrats something to tout, while Republican’s initial response is somewhat muted. The Washington Post which frequently considers the political implications of such news posted the attached article on the 2015 census data. The Washington Post included quotes from Jason Furman, chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, the House Ways, and Means Committee Chairman, Kevin Brady (R-Tex.)
The Wall Street Journal reported the data in a similar format. The primary difference between the two articles was The Wall Street Journal provided just the facts. Readers can conclude any positives in the economy or social welfare of US citizens will thus be heavily used by both parties in general speeches and during the presidential debates. A significant caveat to the substantial gains is the wage increases applied primarily to those living in urban areas, while rural wages have remained flat. This further illustrates the basis for the political division in the country. Most rural states lean and vote Republican, while the more urbanized states side with the Democrats. Middle class incomes had their fastest growth on record last year by Jim Tankersley Ashley has been researching the best resource for estimating long-term care (LTC) services and has found a great website. Genworth, the company that compiles the data, is the leading LTC insurer in the United States. The link below shows the costs for home health care, adult day care, assisted living, & nursing home care for all states & the major regional areas within each state. Most of our clients have opted to self-insure rather than purchase a LTC policy, but it's always helpful to have a comparison & know the cost of services.
Genworth - Cost of Care Calculator One of our Berkeley, Inc. clients is a member of the City Club of Boise. At a time when it seems that civil discourse is under siege the City Club is promoting the "The Civility Project." This program is summarized in the article below. The Civility Project How China's Trade Concessions Made It Stronger
The Wall Street Journal has provided a basic explanation on why it appears that the trade deal with China 15 years ago created unintended consequences. The beauty of this article is its concise explanation. As frequently happens in trade deals, the various political players and parties had a noble idea and executed it in good faith, but it still didn't benefit the U.S. as much as anticipated. The lesson from this report is that in the real world of economics, as well as political and human behavior, outcomes are desired, but often not foreseen. Yes, it's always tough to predict the future. |
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